BATON ROUGE – Youth and young adults composing and performing their own music? There’s an app for that.

The LSU Performing Arts Academy, a community school for the arts at LSU, has announced plans to expand its lineup of classes for music and video enthusiasts.

Leading the slate of new classes is a one-of-a-kind program for the area called “iMake iMusic,” a class that teaches teens and adults how to create and use their own music-making apps. The class will teach students how to design and use their own music programs for devices such as iPhones and iPads. Taught by instructor Daniel Holmes, a doctoral candidate in LSU’s Experimental Music & Digital Media program, the 10-week class is designed to help people interested in music learn how to harness the power of technology as a new way of creating and sharing their compositions. No prior computer programming experience is required.

Also in the lineup for the spring are classes in Final Cut Pro X, an advanced video editing software, and Motion 5, an animation and motion graphics program.

“What’s great about these classes is that they’re equally valuable for young aspiring filmmakers and established professionals alike,” said Performing Arts Academy Director Blake Wilson.

Because these classes are “Apple-authorized,” Wilson said, students who complete the classes have the option of taking Apple’s official certification exams.

“For young people, it will dramatically improve their ability to make professional-looking videos, and for professionals, the classes have the added credibility of being Apple-authorized training on programs that are widely used in the film industry,” he said.

The Final Cut Pro X and Motion 5 classes meet on Saturdays, making them ideally suited for professionals with busy schedules, Wilson said, and are part of a broad lineup of classes in the performing arts that the academy offers for both children and adults.

The “iMake iMusic” course will be held on Tuesdays between Feb. 12 and April 23, beginning at 5 p.m. each afternoon.

Classes for Session 1 of the Final Cut Pro X course will be held on Feb. 16 and 23 and March 2, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day. The Session 2 course classes will be held on March 9, 16 and 23, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day.

Classes for the Motion 5 course will be held April 13, 20 and 27 only, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day.

Registration for the classes can be made on the Performing Arts Academy website, http://paa.lsu.edu. Cost of the courses ranges from $125 to 395. All classes meet in the Music & Dramatic Arts Building, located on Dalrymple Drive.